New Orleans, LA – April 2017… As one of the world's most fascinating cities, New Orleans is an incredibly diverse tourist destination. With a rich assortment of restaurants and nightclubs, the annual Mardi Gras celebration, the New Orleans Saints NFL football team, and a plethora of other attractions, New Orleans has a lot going on—and music plays an integral role in much of it. With all this activity, there is a wide range of music, video, and event production that takes place here, and producer Michael Paz is well-known in this area. To ensure the highest levels of production, Paz relies on the proven performance of E6 Earset microphones drawn from the catalog of Menlo Park, CA-based Countryman Associates.
Among the many projects that he’s involved in, Paz handles video production for New Orleans Live, a TV show that features local, regional, and nationally known musical artists. Further, he is the co-founder of Louisiana Jukebox, another TV show that featured a diverse range of music with that Louisiana sound, as well as the weekly music series Ogden After Hours. Paz discussed his use of the Countryman E6 Earset microphones for his various projects.
“I’ve been using Countryman products since 1992,” says Paz. “In addition to the E6 Earset mics, I also use Countryman’s Type 10 and Type 85 DI’s (direct boxes). Regardless of which product I’m using, I know I can count on Countryman products to deliver clean, natural sound and reliable performance.”
Two of Paz’ recent projects include working with singer/songwriter and poet Zachary Richard on Attakapas, the Cajun Story and the Players Ella & Louie Tribute Band, which performs timeless classics from the catalogs of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. “The E6 is a remarkably versatile microphone,” Paz reports. “The Zachary Richard project is an immersive multimedia concert performance that incorporates visual projection and live music to tell the story of the Cajun people of Louisiana. In this environment, the E6 captured the artist’s vocals without ever encumbering his performance.”
“With the Players Ella & Louie Tribute Band,” Paz continued, “my partners have written a script for a musical theatre production that is a work of fiction based upon the songs drawn from this amazing catalog. The play is currently in development and the two principal actors are using two of my Countryman E6 mics. The E6 mics capture all the subtle nuances of the performances. They are extremely musical and are a tremendous choice for theatrical applications.”
When asked about those E6 attributes that most appeal to him, Paz offered the following thoughts “I love the quality of the mic. They sound great and their low-profile design makes them so much more attractive to use instead of other microphones. Their sound is extremely musical and there’s plenty of gain before feedback, so there’s never an issue getting suitable level. Equally important, they have a secure, yet unobtrusive fit that is never distracting—and this enables the talent to focus on the performance as opposed to worrying about the microphone. I frequently use the Countryman E6 with Sennheiser EW 100 G3 wireless systems and, together, they make a great setup.”
Paz was equally complimentary when queried about his experience with Countryman’s customer support services, “I have nothing but good things to say about working with Countryman. I have had zero tech problems over the course of using their products and the entire staff has been very supportive to me over the years.”
Before turning his attention back to his projects, Paz offered these final comments regarding his Countryman experience. “The Countryman E6 microphones have worked great for me wherever I’ve used them and artists are consistently blown away by their quality. I have also used the E6 Earset on panel discussions where presenters were soft spoken and, again, have achieved excellent results. I’ve had an equally positive experience with my Type 10 and Type 85 DI’s. These are well-made, great sounding tools that make matching the impedance of an electric guitar, for example, with a mixing console an easy, effortless process. At the end of the day, I know I can rely on my Countryman equipment to deliver great sound—reliably and without any hassle—and that’s really what it’s all about.”
For additional information about Michael Paz, contact him at Michael@thepazgroup.com.
About Countryman Associates
For more than 30 years, Countryman has focused on developing microphones and accessories that deliver maximum gain before feedback, with the highest possible rejection of wind, vibration, interference, and other unwanted sounds. The result is warm, clear vocals in speaking and singing applications, delivering natural audio reinforcement that requires almost no attention from the sound engineer or the performer. For additional information about Countryman Associates, visit the company online at www.countryman.com.
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Photo Information: Michael Paz
